China Breaks Spacewalk Record with Nine-Hour Extravehicular Activity

China has achieved a new milestone in its space program, as two of its astronauts completed a historic nine-hour spacewalk, surpassing the previous world record held by the United States. Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong, crew members of the Shenzhou-19 spaceflight, completed the extravehicular activity just before 10 p.m. Beijing time on Tuesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The previous record of eight hours and 56 minutes was set by NASA astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms in 2001. This achievement highlights China’s growing capabilities in space exploration and its ambitions to become a major player in the domain, alongside the United States.

In recent years, China’s space agency has undertaken several significant missions, including robotic lunar exploration and the historic return of lunar samples from the moon’s far side earlier this year. Looking ahead, China aims to land on the moon by 2030 and has already unveiled a specially designed spacesuit for future lunar missions.

This latest spacewalk further demonstrates China’s growing expertise and competitive edge in space technology and exploration.